Closup of the target holder

A view of the laser beam propagating in the atmosphere. Visible light is emitted by the plasma produced by high intensity laser light which ionizes the molecules of the air.

Description

Since the operation of the first Ruby laser (T. Maiman, 1960), laser applications have developed widely, with unprecedented advances in all areas of our life. Among the various types of lasers, the “ultra-intense” lasers, made possible since the 1980s thanks to the “Chirped Pulse Amplification” invented by D. Strickland and G. Mourou, Nobel Prize winners for physics 2018, generate pulses of light extremely short in duration, equal to a few millionths of billionths of a second, billions of times shorter than the flash of a photo camera, and billions of times more powerful. This technology is today the basis of a real technological revolution with applications to medical diagnostics and therapy, environmental monitoring, defense and security.

The ILIL laboratory at INO-CNR in Pisa is among the leading promoters of this research in Europe and recently inaugurated a new ultra-high-intensity laser facility. Thanks to funding from national and European projects, most recently the PNRR IPHOQS, EUAPS, and THE projects, and extensive collaboration with leading European laboratories, including the Extreme Light Infrastructure (LASERLAB) network of large European laboratories based on ultra-intense lasers, ILIL researchers investigate the fundamental mechanisms of the relativistic interaction between ultra-intense laser radiation and matter and their applications, including to develop sources of high-energy radiation and particles for cancer diagnosis and therapy. Our research also focuses on the amplification and atmospheric propagation of intense pulses with high repetition rates and high average power. A growing commitment is the development of inertial fusion for energy within the HiPER+ project within the European Eurofusion program.

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INO Staff

Baffigi Federica
Brandi Fernando
Cellamare Gianluca
Cristoforetti Gabriele
Fulgentini Lorenzo
Giulietti Antonio
Gizzi Leonida Antonio (Contact Person)
Koester Petra
Labate Luca
Marasciulli Andrea
Palla Daniele